Minister Urges Obama: Put Science Before Politics

          I was a lifelong Democrat until this last September when President Obama rejected the clean-air regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. I therefore felt compelled to join with dozens of citizens, scientists, and activists in testifying on Thursday, January 19th about the EPA’s proposed Fuel Efficiency standards. My hope is that President Obama will hear the outcry from the public and, this time, put science before politics.

          The science is clear. Due to our extreme addiction to oil, specifically imported oil, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are significantly higher than they were in 1990. For this reason, it is impressive that the EPA’s proposed standards are higher than what the European Union currently requires, demonstrating our commitment to take shared responsibility for being the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world.

          The EPA’s proposal may inspire President Obama to do what he could have done with smog standards: to put science before politics. Our policies need not be rooted in the belief that all of creation was made for our consumption. When the government refuses its duty to regulate private industry severe consequences can ensue, such as the endangerment of the health of people and our planet. Just as smog can contribute to asthma and heart disease, so can irresponsible levels of greenhouse emissions significantly contribute to climate change and threaten the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.

          It also threatens our economy. By strengthening the greenhouse gas emission standards we can offset the $23.2 billion dollars in Gross External Damages caused by our transportation in the United States. By implanting these proposed standards consumers would save more than $3,000 over the lifetime of a model year 2016 vehicle. Said another way, by the year 2030, the proposed standards would save American consumers nearly $45 billion annually at the gas pump, even after accounting for the cost of new technology – that’s an annual savings of about $330 per family.

          If President Obama makes this a priority, the government can stimulate the creation of new green jobs and export American-built green technology, all while being a completive force in the international market. Together, this can be the single biggest step our country has ever taken to tackle global warming, all while saving money for consumers and savings us all from our addiction to oil.

          I urge the EPA to adopts these standards. I urge President Obama to do the right thing and put science before politics and love before fear. When we reduce greenhouse gas emissions we express our love for the earth and all its inhabitants. When we stimulate our economy by providing incentives for technological advances we make comparable advances in our democracy.

          We are stewards of the earth. How we govern today will determine our future wellbeing. May we govern wisely, aware of the ancient proverb that we use at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia: “We pick fruit from trees we did not plant; we drink water from wells we did not dig. This is as it should be, so long as we dig and plant for those who come after.”

Reverend Nathan C. Walker

Vice President of UUPLAN

Minister, First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

Co-editor of "Whose God Rules?" with foreword by Tony Blair